TEHRAN – Iranian Energy Ministry's Spokesman for Electricity Industry Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi has said his ministry plans to construct and put into operation 500 megawatts (MW) of new renewable power plants by the next summer’s peak consumption period (Iranian calendar’s summer begins on June 22), IRIB reported.

According to Rajabi Mashhadi, his ministry is following a comprehensive program for adding 10,000 MW to the country’s power generation capacity over the next four years.

The official noted that most of the mentioned renewable power plants that are expected to be constructed across the country will be solar farms.

He put the current capacity of the country’s renewable power plants at 900 MW, saying that such power plants account for a small share of the country’s total power generation capacity.

Over the past decade, constant temperature rising and the significant decrease of rainfalls across Iran have put the country in a hard situation regarding electricity supply during peak consumption periods.

In this regard, the Energy Ministry has been following new programs to meet the country’s power demand during peak periods and to prevent outages.

Constructing new power plants for major industries are among the mentioned programs that are being pursued seriously by the ministry in collaboration with other related government entities.

Based on Iran’s Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021), the country was aiming for a 5,000 MW increase in renewable capacity to meet growing domestic demand and expand its presence in the regional electricity market.

But in the final year of the plan, only one-fifth of the figure has been achieved.

Iran was supposed to become a regional hub in the field of energy in the past Iranian calendar decade (March 2011-March 2021), but evidence shows that the country is facing a shortage even in the supply of electricity inside the country, an issue that many believe that could be achieved by developing renewable energy and increasing efficiency of the thermal power plants.

After the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal, in July 2015, many foreign delegations came to Iran for making investments and constructing renewable power plants in the country.

However, following the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions, foreign investment in the country’s renewable industry has fallen significantly.

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